Seville Travel Guide
Eating in Seville
How tapas work in Seville, the dishes to order, sherry and vermouth, the best neighbourhoods for a tapas crawl, markets, meal times, breakfast rituals and the sweets made by nuns behind convent walls.
Seville is one of the great tapas cities of Spain, and eating here is less about restaurants than about a way of life: standing at a crowded bar, a few small plates and a cold glass, conversation, and then on to the next bar. Learn its rhythms and you will eat superbly for a fraction of what you would pay in other European cities.
How tapas work. A tapa is a small plate, ordered at the bar or at a table, usually priced individually. Many bars also offer medias raciones and raciones, half and full portions, for sharing. Order a few at a time, try the specials on the blackboard, and pay at the end; in busy bars, the staff keep track of your order in chalk on the counter or in their heads. The great Sevillian habit is the tapeo, a crawl from bar to bar, with one or two tapas and a drink in each. Go out from around eight or nine in the evening, or at lunchtime from about one-thirty.
What to order. Start with the classics. Espinacas con garbanzos, spinach and chickpeas with cumin and paprika, a dish with Moorish roots. Salmorejo, a thick cold tomato soup topped with egg and ham, and gazpacho in summer. Pringá, slow-cooked meats from a stew, shredded and served in a small bread roll. Carrillada, pork cheeks braised until meltingly tender. Pescaíto frito, fried fish — small anchovies, squid, marinated dogfish called cazón en adobo — best from a freiduría. Montaditos, small toasted sandwiches with fillings such as pork loin and cheese. Jamón ibérico from the acorn-fed pigs of the nearby Sierra de Aracena, cut thin, with manchego or payoyo cheese. Solomillo al whisky, pork tenderloin in a garlic and whisky sauce, a Sevillian favourite. And always the olives — Seville province is famous for them.
What to drink. Sherry is the drink of western Andalusia, and Seville is close to its heartland in Jerez and Sanlúcar. A chilled fino or manzanilla, dry and salty, is perfect with fried fish and ham; amontillado and oloroso are richer and nuttier, for meats and cheese; sweet Pedro Ximénez goes with dessert. Order a caña, a small draught beer, for a cool refresher; local beer is part of the city's identity. Vermouth on tap is a weekend aperitif ritual, and tinto de verano, red wine with lemon soda, is the summer drink. In spring, during the Feria, everyone drinks rebujito, manzanilla with lemonade.
Where to go. The Arenal, between the Cathedral and the river, has some of the city's oldest and most traditional bars, with bullfighting posters and hams hanging from the ceiling. The Alfalfa and the streets around the Plaza del Salvador and the Setas are the liveliest for a crawl. Triana, across the river, is where many Sevillanos go out, with fried fish, local bars around the Calle San Jacinto and terraces on the Calle Betis. The Alameda de Hércules, in the north, has a younger, more creative scene. In Santa Cruz, choose carefully: many places cater to tourists, and the bars on the edges of the neighbourhood are usually better.
Markets. The Mercado de Triana, built over the ruins of the Inquisition's castle, has fresh produce stalls and small bars for a tapa and a drink; go in the late morning. The Mercado de la Encarnación beneath the Setas is a working neighbourhood market. Markets are mostly morning affairs, winding down by early afternoon.
Breakfast and sweets. A Sevillian breakfast is a tostada, toasted bread with olive oil, crushed tomato, and sometimes ham or lard, with a coffee and fresh orange juice. On cold mornings, churros dipped in thick chocolate. The city's sweetest tradition is convent sweets: in several enclosed convents, nuns bake pastries and biscuits, sold through a revolving wooden hatch so that the nuns are never seen; yemas, sweet egg-yolk confections, and almond biscuits are typical. In Holy Week, look for torrijas, bread soaked in milk or wine, fried and coated in honey or sugar.
Meal times and etiquette. Lunch runs from about two to four, dinner from nine-thirty or later. Many kitchens close between lunch and dinner, so plan snacks if you get hungry in the late afternoon. Reservations are rarely needed for tapas bars but are wise for restaurants on weekends. Service is relaxed; ask for the bill when you are ready, as it will not be brought unasked. Tipping is modest. In summer, eat outside late in the evening, when the heat breaks and the terraces fill.
A sample tapas crawl. Begin in the Arenal around eight with a cold manzanilla and a plate of ham in one of the old bullfighting bars near the Maestranza. Walk to the Alfalfa for espinacas con garbanzos and carrillada in a busy bar near the Plaza del Salvador, then cross the old town to the Setas for montaditos. If you still have room, finish in Triana with fried fish on the Calle San Jacinto and a last drink on the Calle Betis, looking back across the river at the lights.
Make it an experience. A guided food tour is a good way to learn the bars and dishes on your first evening, and several tours pair tapas with a flamenco show. For a day of sherry, Jerez de la Frontera, home of the great bodegas, is an easy trip by train. And in spring, if you are lucky enough to be in town for the Feria, you will see Seville eating and drinking at its most joyful.